The Real Reason Prince Harry Has Worn the Same Bracelet for Years

It’s so sweet—and heartbreaking.

harry wearing braceletTim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock

Prince Harry has changed a lot over the years. The world has watched him grow from adorable redheaded toddler to rebellious royal bad boy to the charmingly handsome Duke of Sussex. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is his fondness for bracelets.

In particular, he has been seen wearing the same silver-and-black metal bracelet on his right wrist for the last 20 or so years—for a very special reason. It’s believed to be a tribute to his late mother, Princess Diana.

Shortly after Princess Diana’s tragic car accident and death in 1997, Prince Charles took the 12-year-old and his brother Prince William to Africa in an effort to find refuge from the pain. “My dad told my brother and me to pack our bags—we were going to Africa to get away from it all,” he told Town and Country in 2017. Prince Harry reportedly bought the oft-seen bracelet on that trip; Prince William reportedly made a similar purchase. Don’t miss the 7 things the princes inherited from Princess Diana.

Since then, he has been photographed wearing it at all sorts of occasions, from rugby matches to royal events. He wore it during his first public outing with Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, in 2017, and it was even part of his wedding day attire. If the accessory truly is a tribute to his mother, it proves that Diana is still very much with him, especially for the most important moments in his life.

For more touching moments between this iconic mother-son pair, here are 15 rarely seen photos of Prince Harry with Princess Diana.

Claire Nowak
Claire is a writer, editor and digital strategist with more than 10 years of experience reporting on facts, trivia and quotes. Her natural curiosity lends itself to stories on history, trivia and "Did you know?" curiosities, and her work has appeared in Taste of Home, The Family Handyman, The Healthy and iHeart Media. A former editor at Reader's Digest and proud Marquette University grad, she lives in Milwaukee with her fiancé and their corgi and enjoys binge-listening to true-crime podcasts.